Winning entry of Vicente Jaime Villafranca: Photos of gangmembers of
Baseco 
compound.
All photos right-clicked from http://www.ianparry.org/award/ used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.
Month: August 2008
For non-international armed conflicts, the following are some pertinent provisions of the Geneva Conventions:
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977.
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Quote “Part IV. Civilian Population
Quote “Art 13. Protection of the civilian population
Quote “1. The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against the dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this protection, the following rules shall be observed in all circumstances.
Quote “2. The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.
Quote “3. Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this part, unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.
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Quote “Art 14. Protection of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.Starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited. It is therefore prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless for that purpose, objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population such as food-stuffs, agricultural areas for the production of food-stuffs, crops, livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation works.
Quote “Art 15. Protection of works and installations containing dangerous forces
Quote “Works or installations containing dangerous forces, namely dams, dykes and nuclear electrical generating stations, shall not be made the object of attack, even where these objects are military objectives, if such attack may cause the release of dangerous forces and consequent severe losses among the civilian population.
Quote “Art 16. Protection of cultural objects and of places of worship
Quote “Without prejudice to the provisions of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 14 May 1954, it is prohibited to commit any acts of hostility directed against historic monuments, works of art or places of worship which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples, and to use them in support of the military effort.
Quote “Art 17. Prohibition of forced movement of civilians:
(Artist unnamed.The Apache People are Exhorted to Revolt Against the United States Government. Right-clicked from www.allposters.com, used here for educational, non-commercial purposes, free service by blog-use of image provided by and from said site.)
Quote “1. The displacement of the civilian population shall not be ordered for reasons related to the conflict unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand. Should such displacements have to be carried out, all possible measures shall be taken in order that the civilian population may be received under satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition.
Quote “2. Civilians shall not be compelled to leave their own territory for reasons connected with the conflict.
Quote “Art 18. Relief societies and relief actions
Quote “1. Relief societies located in the territory of the High Contracting Party, such as Red Cross (Red Crescent, Red Lion and Sun) organizations may offer their services for the performance of their traditional functions in relation to the victims of the armed conflict. The civilian population may, even on its own initiative, offer to collect and care for the wounded, sick and shipwrecked.
Quote “2. If the civilian population is suffering undue hardship owing to a lack of the supplies essential for its survival, such as food-stuffs and medical supplies, relief actions for the civilian population which are of an exclusively humanitarian and impartial nature and which are conducted without any adverse distinction shall be undertaken subject to the consent of the High Contracting Party concerned.”closed-quote.
The 130,000 persons or 18,000 families who were forced to leave their homes and run from the bombings and shooting in Midsayap, North Cotabato, and now cramped in schoolhouses without enough food and clean drinking water, are what are referred to by international humanitarian law as : internally displaced persons (more commonly called refugees).
We will not, for now, go into the military aspect of it all, who started what, which units violated which : too many players have been allowed to run around North Cotabato since June-July while the GRP and MILF were preparing for the signing ceremonies : armed CAFGU’s and other armed CVO’s; MILF base commands which this August apparently failed to leave upon orders of the MILF Central Command either because they were surrounded by armed CAFGU’s (MILF version) or because they refused and are now a lost command (government version), parties feuding over the land which started the skirmishes, armed barangay captains and councilmen, and on the national level, the AFP and the MILF. The Joint Ceasefire Committee should come up with an investigation report before the peace negotiations could be taken further.
Unfortunately too, the government has no timetable or estimated timetable as to the continued overrunning of the barangays. While it is conceded that in certain cases, such a timetable cannot be disclosed, it is hoped that for purposes of preparing relief for the internally displaced persons, and for purposes of preparing the refugees themselves (so the displaced families can more or less organize their lives : which relatives and government agencies they can get relief from, how will their children go to school, where will they put their farm animals and belongings, etc.), it is hoped that the AFP unit has a plan along the lines of a timeframe.
The following are the pertinent provisions of international humanitarian law on internally displaced persons:
quote “Guiding principles on internal displacement, United Nations document, 11 February 1998
http://cicr.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_ihl_refugees_and_idps
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quote “Principle 18. (1). All internally displaced persons have the right to an adequate standard of living. (2) At the minimum, regardless of the circumstances, and without discrimination, competent authorities shall provide internally displaced persons with and ensure safe access to:
quote “(a) Essential food and potable water;
quote “(b) Basic shelter and housing;
quote “(c) Appropriate clothing; and
quote “(d) Essential medical services and sanitation.” closed-quote.
(Clean drinking water and food supply. After the President and her court junketed at the Beijing Olympics when armed hostilities were about to break out in North Cotabato, maybe the least they could do is to mobilize resources so that 130,000 displaced persons would not starve.)
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quote “(3) Special efforts should be made to ensure the full participation of women in the planning and distribution of these basic supplies.
quote “Principle 19. (1) All wounded and sick internally displaced persons as well as those with disabilities shall receive to the fullest extent practicable and with the least possible delay, the medical care and attention they require, without distinction on any grounds other than medical ones. When necessary, internally displaced persons shall have access to psychological and social services.
quote “(2) Special attention should be paid to the health needs of women, including access to female health care providers and services, such as reproductive health care, as well as appropriate counselling for victims of sexual and other abuses.
quote “(3) Special attention should also be given to the prevention of contagious and infectious diseases, including AIDS, among internally displaced persons.
(Hundreds families of lie next to each other without enough sanitation facilities. In order to prevent the spread of diseases, government should provide adequate temporary living quarters with enough sanitation facilities and not simply leave the refugees to their own device.)
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quote “Principle 21. (1) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of property and possessions. (2) The property and possessions of internally displaced persons shall in all circumstances be protected,
in particular, against the following acts:
quote “(a) Pillage;
quote “(b) Direct or indiscriminate attacks or other acts of violence;
quote “(c) Being used to shield military operations or objectives;
quote “(d) Being made the object of reprisal; and
quote “(e) Being destroyed or appropriated as a form of collective punishment.
quote “3. Property and possessions left behind by internally displaced persons should be protected against destruction and arbitrary and illegal appropriation, occupation or use.
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quote “Principle 25. (1) The primary duty and responsibility for providing humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons lies with national authorities.
quote “(2) International humanitarian organizations and other appropriate actors have the right to offer their services in support of the internally displaced. Such an offer shall not be regarded as an unfriendly act or an interference in a State’s internal affairs and shall be considered in good faith. Consent thereto shall not be arbitrarily withheld, particularly when authorities concerned are unable or unwilling to provide the required humanitarian assistance.
quote “(3) All authorities concerned shall grant and facilitate the free passage of humanitarian assistance and grant persons engaged in the provision of such assistance rapid and unimpeded access to the internally displaced.
quote “Principle 26. Persons engaged in humanitarian assistance, their transport and supplies shall be respected and protected. They shall not be the object of attack or other acts of violence.
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quote “Principle 28. (1) Competent authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to establish conditions, as well as provide the means, which allow internally displaced persons to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes or places of habitual residence, or to resettle voluntarily in another part of the country. Such authorities shall endeavour to facilitate the reintegration of returned or resettled internally displaced persons.
quote “(2) Special efforts should be made to ensure the full participation of internally displaced persons in the planning and management of their return or resettlement and reintegration.
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